Kick-start your entrepreneurial journey

Entrepreneurship is the buzzword of recent years and there are more and more opportunities for everyday people to go and develop their ideas into viable businesses. Have you got an business idea, but are unsure about what to do next? Here are some opportunities that might kick-start your career as an entrepreneur!

Sydney School of EntrepreneurshipWe’re partnered with the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, (SSE) a hub where you can complete core units to complement your existing coursework with subjects such as systems thinking, analysis and mapping; start-up methodology; visual communication and presentation, and more. The SSE also runs a series of events throughout the year, which present fantastic opportunities to meet with other budding entrepreneurs and network with industry professionals.

Student Ashley Avci is currently completing a Bachelor of Environment and Bachelor of Laws LLB here at Macquarie, and was a part of the first cohort of students to recently complete the Navigator unit at the SSE. This pilot unit allowed students to learn to map and navigate their own start-up ecosystem based on an existing social or business idea, connecting with industry partners from entrepreneurial and creative spaces for advice and mentorship along the way.

Ashley, pictured third from right, above, made the most of her time at the SSE to network with fellow Macquarie students, surrounding her above, as well as forge connections with the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sydney.“The entire SSE experience has been a wonderful introduction into the world of entrepreneurship,” she says. “To meet up with and collaborate with some of the best budding entrepreneurs from across the state has been invaluable and I can’t wait to start using what I’ve learnt.”

Macquarie University IncubatorThe road to success is paved with questions, so it’s important to find a space to foster your idea where you can learn from like-minded entrepreneurs and be mentored by professionals. If you haven’t yet checked out our Incubator (located next to Y3A), it’s well worth paying a visit.

The Incubator, pictured below, is a space open to all students and features meeting spaces and hot desks that you can book as spaces to finesse your business ideas.

For Michael Rampe, being a part of a team at the Macquarie University Incubator has helped to make their software tool, Pedestal, a reality. Pedestal, a learning and teaching web service that allows users to examine 3D images of items in detail, was developed as a bespoke teaching tool by a team from Macquarie University’s Learning Innovation Hub and Department of Computing.

Says Michael: “A couple of years ago, I was working on a project with an archaeologist, Dr Yann Tristant, where we were investigating 3D scanning and archaeology teaching. We had this great technology available to us, but no simple way of getting it to our students online.” According to Michael, it was clear they were using cumbersome methods. “So we started looking around and realised that the web had really matured. We knew there was a better way for this to be done.

The Pedestal team were one of the first to use the Incubator, and Michael says the biggest benefit from using the space is being exposed to a vibrant and energetic start-up culture.

“[The Incubator] is a space where a lot of different people at different points in their start-ups are able to share their learnings and business insights with each other,” he says. “It’s an environment that really supports mentoring each other through the start-up journey.

“We came in with zero business sense, but we did have cool ideas and a cool invention. The Macquarie University Incubator taught us the language, about how businesses operate and how we could turn our idea into a reality.”

Pedestal’s next goal is to leverage what they’ve learnt to take the product to a range of learning and teaching programs in different learning systems across Australia, and other countries.

Of course, you don’t have to have a business idea to get involved in Incubator happenings. The Incubator plays host to a jam-packed calendar of events such as pitching comps, hackathons, workshops and free talks from entrepreneurs throughout the year. You can join the Incubator group on Facebook here to keep up-to-date with the latest events. If you’d like to host your own event in the Incubator, click here.